Methodology

The source

FinScan retrieves a company's latest annual accounts filing from the Central Balance Sheet Office of the National Bank of Belgium. A company files its accounts at the latest seven months after its year end; each company page shows the year-end date of the year analysed.

No other source is used for amounts: no sector average, no estimate. A figure missing from the filing stays missing.

Three accounts formats

The law provides three formats, depending on the company's size:

• The full format, for large companies: detailed income statement, turnover published.
• The abridged format, for small companies: turnover (heading 70) is often not published, only the gross margin is.
• The micro format, for very small companies: even more condensed.

A missing turnover is therefore not a negative sign: it is the rule for most Belgian companies. The analysis then focuses on the balance sheet, the result and cash.

The headings read

Code	Heading
10/15	Equity
17/49	Liabilities
17	Amounts payable after more than one year
42/48	Amounts payable within one year
20/58	Total assets
21	Intangible fixed assets
40/41	Amounts receivable within one year
50/58	Current investments and cash at bank and in hand
70	Turnover
630/634	Depreciation and amounts written off
9904	Profit or loss for the year
9087	Average number of employees (full-time equivalents)

The ratios

They are only computed when every heading needed is in the filing.

Indicator	Calculation
Solvency	(equity 10/15 − intangible assets 21) ÷ total assets 20/58
Cash flow	result 9904 + depreciation 630/634
Return on equity	result 9904 ÷ equity 10/15
Current ratio	current assets ÷ amounts payable within one year
Cash ratio	cash 50/58 ÷ amounts payable within one year
Working capital requirement	receivables within one year 40/41 − trade, tax and social debts 44/45
Months of cash	cash 50/58 ÷ monthly costs, if turnover is published; or ÷ monthly loss excluding depreciation, if the year is loss-making

Each amount is compared with the previous year when the filing contains it.

The score out of 10

The score sums up the financial health read in the filing. It is set by the analysis model from the indicators above, giving priority, in this order, to cash and how long it lasts, to solvency, then to profitability and its trend. It is not a fixed formula: two companies with the same solvency ratio may receive different scores if their cash differs.

The vigilance level

It says how carefully to read the accounts, not what to decide.

• Low: sound structure, comfortable cash, no warning sign.
• Moderate: one point needs attention, for instance a few months of cash or falling profitability.
• High: several signs converge, for instance repeated losses and high short-term debts.
• Critical: a serious sign, such as negative equity or cash below three months of costs.

Profiles

Each analysis places the company in one of five profiles, which describe its financial dynamics:

• The Citadel: strong cash (over 20% of the balance sheet), recurring profits.
• The Cash Pump: generates cash (positive cash flow), but with a fragile financing structure.
• The Illusionist: profitable on paper, but cash falls and the working capital requirement grows.
• The Survivor: tight cash, but a business model that holds.
• The Zombie: repeated losses and critical cash.

The profile names are shown as the analysis wrote them, in French.

Points of vigilance

They are the precise findings behind the level: each names the heading concerned and its amount. They are ranked from low to critical.

What the analysis does not see

• What happened since the year end: a lost contract, a dispute, a recent late payment.
• What is not in the annual accounts: order book, off-balance-sheet guarantees not detailed, group situation.
• Insolvency proceedings opened after the filing: check the central solvency register.

The analysis is generated by an artificial intelligence and may contain errors. Read the disclaimer, and always check an important amount in the official filing.